BELLEVUE, Wash. — A man is in critical but stable condition after he was kidnapped off the street in Bellevue last weekend.
The victim was walking along the 10600 block of Northeast 2nd Street just after 10 p.m. on May 27 when a black SUV pulled up alongside him. Several 911 callers reported that two suspects jumped out of the car and fought with the victim, eventually pulling him inside the car and speeding away.
"It was obvious enough and concerning enough that multiple people recognized, this is out of the ordinary, this isn't some kind of game that's being played or a prank or anything like that, this is a serious disturbance that's happening," said Bellevue Police Captain Joe Nault.
Police investigated the man's disappearance for the next several hours, interviewing witnesses and searching for the vehicle.
Just after 2 a.m., a convenience store attendant at a Chevron in south Bellevue called 911 to report that a disoriented man had walked into the store and appeared to have been assaulted.
After responding to the scene, police and medics discovered it was the same man who had been grabbed off the street hours earlier. The victim was able to confirm his identity and that he had been taken against his will, but wasn't able to provide other details.
"At that point, because of the nature of his injuries, the more urgent pressing need was to get him medical assistance," Nault said. "So we haven't had a chance to get much information from him."
The victim is in critical, but stable condition, according to hospital staff. Police estimate he is in his early 30s.
The gas station where the victim later reappeared was only about a mile and a half from where he was kidnapped, Nault said. However, the victim was gone for four hours, and police are still investigating where the suspects may have taken him during that time.
Police believe this was a targeted incident and that there is no current threat to the public. They are asking anyone who saw the kidnapping or knows anything about the people involved to reach out to the Bellevue Police Department at (425) 577-5656 and reference case number 23-29029.
Nault thanked the multiple people who reported the initial kidnapping and also the gas station attendant who called 911 after the victim reappeared.
"This is exactly the kind of situation where we depend on the community to help," Nault said. "I give a lot of credit to anybody who sees something that looks out of the ordinary and looks dangerous, and has the initiative to pick up the phone and call 911."